1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical junction box that is installed in an automobile or the like, and particularly relates to an electrical junction box equipped with a lateral connection type connector that opens to a lateral side of a box body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical junction boxes, such as junction boxes that are installed in automobiles, are equipped with a large number of connectors. JP 11-252746A discloses a junction box with a lateral connection type connector that opens to a lateral side of the box body to make more effective use of the space in a box body. The lateral connection type connector has a connecting terminal provided on a bus bar or a printed circuit board. The bus bar or the printed circuit board constitutes an internal circuit of the electrical junction box and is accommodated in a connector housing that opens to the lateral side of the box body.
An L-shaped connecting terminal is used in the lateral connection type connector of the junction box of the type disclosed in JP 11-252746A to adjust the position of the connecting terminal within the connector housing in a height direction or to adjust the height position of the lateral connection type connector itself on the side face of the box body. The L-shaped connecting terminal has an upward extending portion extending up from the internal circuit, and a leading end edge portion of the upward extending portion is bent toward the outside of the box body and constitutes a connecting portion to which a counterpart connector is connectable.
There is a concern that the connecting portion of the L-shaped connecting terminal will move back in response to a pushing force that is exerted when a connector is connected thereto, and hence there is a concern that the connector cannot be connected stably. There also has been the risk that stability will be impaired if the connecting portion is not positioned accurately within the connector housing.
The invention was made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide an electrical junction box having a novel structure that enables connectors to be connected stably even if an L-shaped connecting terminal is used as a connecting terminal of a lateral connection type connector.